Alma, battle of

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Alma, battle of, 1854. On 20 September, a week after disembarking in the Crimea, British, French, and Turkish troops under Raglan and St Arnaud launched an attack on Menshikov's forces blocking their advance on Sebastopol at the Alma river. After heavy fighting at bayonet point, the Russians were forced to retreat. Though Lord Aberdeen told Queen Victoria that ‘we may fairly hope that the fall of Sebastopol cannot long be delayed’, the fortress held out for another year.

J. A. Cannon

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